Rosemary - How it Helps You

Rosmary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) is a well known herb used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. It’s two most active ingredients are Caffeic Acid and Rosemarinic Acid – both have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents. Perhaps not so well known, is its beneficial effect on the liver. Rosemary has been found to stimulate the liver to make it work more efficiently, make an individual feel better and more energetic. Furthermore, it can help improve kidney function significantly and help to preserve the essential minerals sodium, potassium and chlorium.

Choleretic is an agent that stimulates the liver to produce more bile, while hepaprotective refers to the protection of the liver. Both of these are effects of Rosemary. Scientists have found that there is a significant increase in bile flow and a significant reduction in plasma liver enzymes when extracts are given as a pretreatment before carbon tetrachloride. This was shown by using lyophilized ethanol and aqueous extracts of young sprouts of rosemary.

Rosemary also has anti-tumorigenic effects in that it inhibits Killer B cell activity, as well as induced mammary tumorigenesis and carcinogen DNA adduct formation in mammary epithelial cells. Rosemary effects the central nervous system by stimulating the CNS, respiratory and locomotor activity (found in mice); it effect the skin by stimulating the skin, improving circulation and improving hemodynamics in occlusive arterial disease; and effects smooth muscles by inhibiting contraction of the tracheal smooth muscle seen in respiratory illness or asthma.

You can use Rosemary when cooking by adding it to chicken, fish or bean dishes; adding it to tea and using when sick or if you have a respiratory illness; and always use it as a functional food – not as medicine. Rosemary can be incorporated to a lot of other meats and vegetarian dishes as well. 

To be honest, my boyfriend has Cystic Fibrosis which is a Respiratory and Digestion disease that targets not only the lungs but the liver and kidney as well. I’m wondering if there is any significant research with Rosemary and CF – although at first glance the only Rosemary + CF research on google relates to a person named Rosemary.

(http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/natural-remedies/herbs/rosemary-health-benefits-00145.html)
(http://www.morgellons-disease-research.com/Morgellons-Message-Board/complementary-alternative-therapies/2698-health-benefits-rosemary.html)

Childhood Obesity & Ethnicity Correlation

Up to 1/3 of the childhood population has a BMI greater than 85% for age and more than half of these children have a BMI greater than 95%. Obesity is a serious health concern for children and adolescents. According to the CDC, the percent over overweight children from ages 6-19 rose to over 11% from 1963 to 2002. 

In a recent NHANES survey, it was found that obesity prevalence among children and adolescents showed no significant changes between 2003-4 and 2005-6. Based on that study, 16.3% of children and adolescents from 2-19 were obese, at or above the 95^th percentile of the 2000 BMI for age growth charts. A normal BMI is 18.5-24.9, overweight is 25.29.9 and obese is over 30. Data from the NHANES surveys (’76-80 and ’03-06) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: for children aged 2-5 years, prevalence increased from 5% to 12.4%; for those aged 6-11, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17%; and those aged 12-19 years, prevalence increased from 5% to 17.6%. In the past two years, however, it has not significantly increased. 

One of the national health objectives for 2010 was to reduce the prevalence of overweight from the NHANES III baseline of 11%. However, the NHANES 1999-2002 overweight estimates suggest that since 1994, overweight youths has not leveled off or decreased, and is increasing.  NHANES has shown that adolescent non-Hispanic black boys experienced the largest increase in the prevalence of obesity (12.2%) compared to the increase among Mexican American (7%) and non-Hispanic white boys (4.4%).  Mexican-American children ages 6-11 were more likely to be overweight (22%) than non-Hispanic black children (20%) and non-Hispanic white children (14%). In addition to the 16% of children and teens ages 6-19 who were overweight in 1999-2002, another 15% were considered at risk of becoming overweight (a BMI for age between 85^th and 95^th percentiles. 

Minority populations in 2003-04 were at greater risk of being obese or overweight than non-minorities. Mexican and African American children aged 2-10 who had BMI values greater than 85% made up 37% and 35.1% of these populations of children compared to non-Hispanic white children of the same age and range, who made up 33.5% of these populations. 

Expert panel recommendation includes the following:

1)      Structure of the home environment to make healthy food choices easily available and remove accessibility to tempting energy dense foods – don’t bring it in the house and you won’t eat it. Or buy smaller portion size treats.

2)      Parents, family and caregivers should be good examples and consume healthy foods themselves, to avoid ‘do as I say, not as I do” mentality.

3)      Caregivers should be consistent in the practice of these healthful feeding styles.

4)      Avoid food as a reward (especially for good behavior). Use time spent together playing outside or completing an activity together as a reward instead.

5)      Establish daily meal and snack times.

6)      As a caregiver, decide which foods will be provided to the child and when. It’s up to the child to decide how much to eat.

Running Conditioning

Proper training for running begins by first determining your specific goals. Are you training to compete? If so, what is the distance, duration, tempo and terrain you need to adapt to for this event? As with any competitive sport, focus on conditioning the specific energy systems, speeds and additional demands required by the competition itself to elicit the best results. Aerobic Conditioning Perhaps you are running just to help with fitness goals such as cardiovascular endurance and increased calorie expenditure. If this is the case, use a variety of aerobic activities, and keep the running down to no more than fifteen miles a week. Altering the distances and speeds through interval training and occasional sprint work would also be helpful for overall fitness improvement.   Always look to reduce impact by wearing properly fitted and well-constructed shoes, and move to softer surfaces such as grass when sprinting. Strength Training  Strength training is important for added power, stability, and injury prevention. Lower Body Strength Training Strength training for the lower body is effective when done twice a week with one session dedicated more to strength gains and another to endurance. If most of your runs are on the weekend (competitively), then your first leg workout of the week should be your strength day. Utilize compound exercises such as squats, presses and lunges for 4-6 sets, progressing up to resistance loads that only allow for 6-10 repetitions. This type of training will help with the hills, high winds and the occasional sprint work needed in most competitive races. The second workout of the week should concentrate on endurance and stability. Implement more balance-type and reaction-type exercises such as wobble-board squats or reverse lunges off a stability disk. Some light isolated work may also be added with the lower body performing 2-3 sets with much lighter resistance for approximately 12-17 reps. Upper Body Strength Training  Focus the upper-body portion of the training mostly on the trunk and back muscles as opposed to chest, biceps or triceps. This will help support and control the torso during running and will help maintain posture. Shoulder exercises such as rowing may also be helpful as the swing of the arm is extremely important for adding inertia to the body. In other words, the added power of the arm swing will help the body move faster with less effort. Rowing exercises help prepare the needed muscles to decelerate and return the arm during the swing.   Include integrated trunk work on all training days by selecting exercises that require more trunk strength and stability. For example, perform pulling exercises in a standing, non-braced position. Add occasional pushing exercises performed on a resita-ball as opposed to a bench or machine. This type of training integrates more trunk muscles for balance and stability. Isolated trunk movements such as an incline reverse trunk flexion or a cable trunk rotation may also be added, but don't typically help to improve posture or translate to sport movements. Note: Plyometric or explosive training may be introduced once a week, particularly for sprinters. Keep in mind this is advanced training with added impact and requires significant strength preparation. You should consult a qualified coach or trainer before getting into this area.

Running Sample Workout A Exercise Sets Reps Dumbbell Chest Press 3 10 Lat Pull Ups 3 12 decreasing to 10 with increasing load Dumbbell Front Delt Press Overhead 2 10 Cable Standing Lat Row 2 10 Barbell Squats 3 10 Machine Seated Hamstring Flex 3 10 decreasing to 8 with increasing load Hanging Leg Raise 2 12 Dumbbell Biceps Flex 3 10 Cable Standing Rear Delt Row 2 10  Running Sample Workout B Exercise Sets Reps Dumbbell Incline Chest Press 3 10 Cable Overhead Lat Row 3 10 Dumbbell Biceps Flex 3 10 Dumbbell Rear Delt Row 3 10 Dumbbell Triceps Extension 3 10 Dumbbell Reverse Lunges 3 10 Machine Seated Hamstring Flex 3 10 Machine Seated Calf Extension 3 12 Barbell Standing Hip Extension 2 12 Trunk Rotation 2 12 Disclaimer: The above training protocol/program is a general summary, designed to address the specific demands of the sport presented. Programs may be modified for individual needs. It is advised to consult with a trained professional strength coach or personal trainer if you are preparing for a highly competitive sport. As with any exercise program, consult your doctor before beginning.